in the wake of magic

I have opened my window on Beltane eve and heard the bells ring amongst rose trees, sea fog, stars. I didn't look out, of course; I didn't want the faeries to catch me. And so they rode on, leaving me with a longing, a strange sorrow at being left behind, although I did not want to go.

Beltane (like Samhain) is a threshold time, a coming together time, when the liminal spaces disappear - the spaces that lie between natural & supernatural, man & woman, winter and summer. The energies seep into each other. We fasten hands, merge bodies, connect the layered worlds with a maypole, relight fires, and hold our breath as something stands in the night behind us - smiling at us, far too close for comfort.

I myself believe that every dawn is a Beltane, every evening a Samhain. Someone said to me today that maybe the birds sing at sunrise & sunset to shut the magic away for daylight, and open it again for the darkness. I think I will always hear that sorcery in their song from now on. I will always understand why dawn makes me a little sad, and why night thrills me to the core.

At Beltane, we humans (at least, the traditionalists amongst us) sing our own opening and shutting of magic - faery magic, sacred magic, sex magic, simple flower and food magic. We spend a day and night deep in edgeless, hourless Life. Six months later, we do something similar for Death. It's a wonderful time.

Then again, I also believe that every smile is a Beltane, every sigh a Samhain. We constantly cross thresholds of fear to come together in life and in longing. All of us the the god and the goddess, the light and the loam, the girl and the wild faery king, the silence and a song.

I love your thoughts in this meditation, especially about the birds singing away the magic at dawn. Perhaps they usher it in again with their evening chorus. Although, really, day magic is just as beautiful--and powerful--as night magic; I feel it all around me in the woods I walk.

HEARTWILD BOOKS

In the quiet hours, the in-between moments and the half-light, I like to write. My books are made from fairytale shadow and old magical songs. They speak about dreams, lost wishes, longing for something beyond the self, and always about love. They have been not-for-profit fundraisers. You can read about them here. I am currently writing something new.

DREAMING TALES

ELSEWHERE

THE HEROINE'S MYTHIC JOURNEY

I believe we have a need these days especially for a womanly kind of story: one which travels like the moon, in an old circle, gathering things to create richness and depth, exploring layers, going back over its steps. And so I have created a storytelling (and therapeutic) template for the mythic heroine. You can read about it here.

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